Automotive News Canada - April 2017 - v2 - 14

14

* APRIL 2017

Technician goes back to school to head up BMW tech team
By MICHAEL GOETZ
TORONTO CORRESPONDENT

SHAWN STEPHENS

FROM TECHNICIAN
TO TECHNOLOGY SPECIALIST
IN HIS ROLE AT BMW
Canada as manager of aftersales systems and innovation,
Shawn Stephens has two areas
of responsibility.
Aftersales systems entails
managing all the systems
that dealerships use for service write-up and scheduling,
as well as the systems they
use to diagnose, service and
repair vehicles.
The other area, denoted by
the innovation label,
is leading technical
support for vehicle
connectivity, encompassed by infotainment and safety systems, and telematics.
Those two areas
don't appear to be an
obvious natural pairing, but Stephens has
the unique credentials to make it work.
"I started my
automotive career as a technician, working at a five-bay
shop. After four years turning wrenches I decided that I
wanted to work in the corporate side of the industry, so I
went back to school to earn a
university business degree."
Soon after, he landed at
BMW Canada in the customer call centre where he quickly became the go-to person for

Shawn Stephens got his
business degree and began
adding hat after hat at work.

technical matters. The aftersales department took notice
and recruited him for a series
of roles with increasing responsibilities. He showed
interest and aptitude for understanding connected-drive
technologies and it
wasn't long before
BMW Canada asked
him to manage tech
support, in addition to his aftersales
duties.
"In both cases
the objectives are
the same, to provide the vision
and strategic direction, and to
introduce and adapt new technologies and systems within
the Canadian market."

LOULIA KOUCHAJI
POLICY ADVISOR TO
GLOBAL AUTOMAKERS

ABOUT FIVE YEARS AGO,
when Loulia Kouchaji graduated from the School of Public

Loulia Kouchaji's trilingual
background helps her deal
with different levels of government in different provinces, even internationally.

Policy and Governance at the
University of Toronto, she
didn't know what she wanted
to pursue with her new qualifications, but she knew what she
didn't want to do.
"A lot of my classmates
ended up working for the
Ontario public service. I
wasn't ready to go down that
road," says Kouchaji.
At the time, the Global
Automakers of Canada (GAC)
was looking for a public-pol-

icy analyst to help in its role
of informing and representing
the interests of its members
about pending government policy. The GAC's members are
all the major automakers operating in Canada, that are not
GM, Ford and FCA.
"I thought this could be quite
interesting ... you deal with all
the different levels of government and there is an international aspect to it as well."
Her intuition proved right,
and Kouchaji says she also
enjoys the fast-changing
nature of the auto industry,
and its prominent role in environmental advancements.
About two years ago, she
was promoted to Senior Policy
Advisor, and does plenty of
heavy lifting on anything to do
with the province of Quebec,
due to her trilingual abilities.
Born in France, to parents
of Syrian heritage, Kouchaji
speaks English, French and
Arabic.

AYAZ SOMAIS

GLOBAL ACCESSORY SUPPLIER
AVG GROUP, BASED IN
Scarborough, Ont., is a global supplier to Toyota, Lexus,
Hyundai, Nissan and General
Motors.
It's probably because AVG
and its CEO, Ayaz Somais,
like to keep a low profile, and
because AVG is an "accessory" supplier and not a parts
supplier.
AVG supplies headphones
and Bongiovi-branded digital
processors, interior LED light-

Ayaz Somais changed his
business model to supplying
instead of manufacturing.

ing, special-edition trim pieces, seat heaters, mirror systems and more.
AVG doesn't make any of
these products. It often engages Tier One parts makers such
as Magna and Delphi to make
them.
"We used to manufacture,
but we got out of it because it
limits us to one or two product
lines," says Somais. "Today
we won't make a part unless it
has a fully validated OEM part
number."
Somais says AVG's strategic
advantage is its ability to manage the supply chain for automakers, so accessories can be
installed wherever it makes
sense, whether on the factory
floor or at the dealership.
Somais says he is glad to
have built the AVG Group in
Canada and that it contributes to the country's economy. He and his family came
to Canada in 1972 as refugees
from Uganda, during dictator
Idi Amin's reign. - ANC

Resignation ruled involuntary,
judge orders damages paid
By ERIC FREEDMAN
LEGAL CORRESPONDENT

A FORD STORE IN ST.
JOHN'S, Nfld., is on the hook
for damages for the involuntary resignation of its commercial-fleet manager.
The Newfoundland and
Labrador Court of
Appeal upheld a
$72,863 trial judgment
in favour of Ralph
Evans, who worked at
Avalon Ford from 1997
to 2010, when he quit
after being chastised
over an inventory-control error for which
he took responsibility. Evans "suffered a
medically diagnosed acute stress
reaction" after criticism by the
store's general sales manager
and owner, the decision said.
Although Evans walked off
the job after a "tense meeting,"
handed in his keys and said,
"I'm done," the alleged resignation was "equivocal," and
Avalon "could not reasonably
conclude Evans had voluntarily resigned," the court said.
It said Avalon Ford owed
Evans "general obligations of
good faith and fair dealing"
that included giving him time
to withdraw the resignation.

USED-CAR STORE ORDERED TO PAY
FOR REPAIRS MADE ELSEWHERE
A SMALL CLAIMS COURT
judge in Richmond Hill, Ont.,
has ordered a used-car store to
reimburse a purchaser $2,251
for repair costs.
In November 2013, a salesman for Autodrive of Canada
Corp. told Karen
MacDowell that the
2003 Mazda Protege
5 she was interested
in was certified and
"e-tested with a warranty," but it died the
day after. Inspections
found serious problems, including "ineffective brakes" and
rust holes that made
it unsafe.
Due to mistrust, MacDowell
chose to have repairs done elsewhere, the decision said. She
sued after the store refused to
reimburse her.
Deputy Judge Abraham
Davis said the store represented the Protege as "roadworthy,
mechanically sound or maintained at a guaranteed level of
quality."
He said the car's safety standards certificate was misleading or false and the required
pre-sale inspection had not
been performed. - ANC
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